Winslet and DiCaprio attend Revolutionary Road premiere

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio attended the European premiere of their Oscar-tipped film Revolutionary Road in London on Sunday night. While Winslet has already picked up a best actress Golden Globe for her performance, the Times appeared unimpressed by the movie, only awarding it a derisory two-star review.
 
The paper's critic, Wendy Ide, said that Revolutionary Road, which follows the travails of the Wheelers, a middle-class couple trapped in 1950s suburban America, was a "disappointing downer of a film". While she acknowledged there was no "want of commitment" on the part of Winslet and DiCaprio, she felt the dialogue was "overwritten and the performances mannered and theatrical" and the direction by Sam Mendes, Winslet’s husband, flawed. "The Wheelers feel less like credible humans with legitimate problems and increasingly like the characters in a third-rate play."
 
Speaking at the opening, Winslet courted controversy when she talked about her other new film, The Reader, for which she won a second Golden Globe for best supporting actress. "I've been very lucky this year. I keep saying to people I can't believe I got to play April Wheeler [from Revolutionary Road] and Hanna Schmitz [from The Reader] in less than a year. It's extraordinary playing two such wonderful women."
 
Although she clearly meant the part of Schmitz was wonderful, Winslet should perhaps have chosen her words more carefully. There are already enough critics who believe the treatment of the subject matter in The Reader - the Schmitz character shows no remorse for what she has done when she is tried and found guilty of war crimes - might jeopardise Winslet's chances of an Oscar nomination. The shortlist is due later this week.

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